This invention relates to seal assemblies and more particularly to lubricant seal assemblies having multiple sealing lips for both sealing a lubricant in a chamber and for preventing the admission of outside foreign material and contaminants to the sealed chamber.
Seal assemblies having multiple sealing lips have been known for some time. Typically, these assemblies include a metal-like case and an elastic-like seal. The seal may consist of one or more elastic-like pieces and each piece may have one or more sealing lips. The prior seal assemblies are designed to fit at least partially within one of the races or bearing rings of an antifriction bearing and the multiple sealing lips seal against a surface inside the bearing race, i.e., an inside surface of the antifriction bearing ring, or against the housing into which the antifriction bearing is placed. The prior seal assemblies having elastic-like seals are typically designed for a specific application and the antifriction bearing and/or housing with which the seal is to be used must be custom manufactured to accommodate the seal assembly. Supplementary seal assemblies, i.e., seal assemblies which are not custom matched to bearings, are available which seal against the outside surface or face of antifriction bearings. The seal assemblies are made of an all metal stamping which effects at least a portion of its sealing by cutting a groove in the face of the bearing ring. The supplementary seal assemblies known to the inventor do not provide a seal assembly with a resilient seal which resiliently axially seals against an outside face of an antifriction bearing and resiliently radially seals against the housing in which the antifriction bearing is contained.